Procedures for BIM modeling of reinforced concrete ribbed slabs in buildings

Abstract

It is impossible not to admit that commercial computational tools for structural analysis and detailing have become indispensable in the various applications of Structural Engineering nowadays. The importance of these tools equipped with graphical interfaces based on the BIM (Building Information Modeling) environment, is verified, above all, due to the flexibility and ease in making corrections and common changes during the elaboration stage, as well as the proposition of different structural conceptions, not always innovative, but almost always bold, as in the case of reinforced concrete ribbed slabs.

The use of ribbed slabs in reinforced concrete is an old practice in Structural Engineering, which has encouraged the adaptation of commercial computational tools, both in the development of structurally consistent mathematical formulations, as well as in the development of specific databases, equipped with information from mold manufacturers and materials intended for the execution of this type of slabs.

It is highly efficient in building structures in which there are numerous problems of interference of structural elements with elements of installations, such as large-diameter pipes for wastewater, sewage, gas, fire, and even air conditioning ducts, exhaust and architectural elements.

This efficiency is mainly due to the fact that large beams are not considered in their supports, making the lower face of the slab practically without obstacles to the building pipes, and is also due to the low average thickness of concrete used in the pavement compared to conventional rectangular supported slabs and flat mushroom slabs.

However, it is not always possible to obtain an optimal final result, even with all the adaptations previously described, mainly due to executive and computational modeling problems.

This work intends to present a possible structural modeling methodology, which provides results within the limits of the feasibility of the slab, both in the construction aspect of the computational structural model, as well as the possibility of using materials from manufacturers and labor, using a commercial computational tool for structural analysis and detailing.

DOI:https://doi.org/10.56238/sevened2024.026-055